Newbie Q: Will beer clarify on its own?

Hi All,

I just completed my first brew – I made the NB English Bitter extract kit. Much to my delight, it actually worked as it tastes (and feels) like real beer. The beer is somewhat cloudy. I did nothing to clarify the beer when brewing it so I assume it should be cloudy, correct? And if so, will it clarify somewhat as it sits in the bottles?

Thanks,
Steve

they should clear in time.

let them carb at room temperature, then move them into the refrigerator. They will clear faster when they are cold.

[quote=“shetc”]Hi All,

I just completed my first brew – I made the NB English Bitter extract kit. Much to my delight, it actually worked as it tastes (and feels) like real beer. The beer is somewhat cloudy. I did nothing to clarify the beer when brewing it so I assume it should be cloudy, correct? And if so, will it clarify somewhat as it sits in the bottles?

Thanks,
Steve[/quote]

Yes it will. The yeast, and anything else left in the beer, will settle out over time. You will be able to see a layer of sediment (white-ish in color) on the bottom of the bottle. When you are ready to drink the beer, pour with care. Leave a little liquid in the bottle and try not to disturb the sediment.

Some styles, like the hefeweizen, actually want the cloudy, yeasty look in the glass. In this case, you should swirl the bottle around before pouring to mix in the yeast. For your Bitter, go ahead the leave the yeast in the bottle. Pouring and drinking the yeast won’t hurt you or significantly impact taste, but if you leave it in the bottle, the beer will look a little bit brighter.

Enjoy.

Thanks guys!

Your other option is to cold crash the beer in the fermenter. For beers that I wanted to be especially clear and didn’t want sediment in the bottle I’d store up ice in my freezer then put my fermenter in an ice bath for a couple of days. A lot of work but without real temp control I was pleased with the results

Sometimes British malts won’t clear quite so well. A common practice in Britain is to dry hop and add a clarifying agent like isinglass or gelatin, and let this drop out. Nothing wrong with drinking the beer a little cloudy though, and bitters are about my favorite style.